


Did I know you?

by bkitsune



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Developing Relationship, Dorks in Love, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Mermaid Tales Voltron Big Bang 2020, Romantic Fluff, Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Secret Identity, Unrequited Love, mermaid Pidge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24472720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bkitsune/pseuds/bkitsune
Summary: Keith looked up to find a girl with golden hair and bright eyes that took his breath away, a unique color that he had never thought was real in his life. Suddenly, the smell of wet algae and salt in the air hit his nose like an ancient memory that he didn't recognize.It was strangely familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where...Sometimes they talked, sometimes she just watched him finish whatever he was doing while he waited for her. Despite being in the same group of friends and sharing many things in common, she did not know so many things form Keith, and that caused a deep emptiness inside her considering the circumstances. But she felt that he was too accustomed to loneliness, so his barriers were immutable if someone tried to enter by force like the case of Lance or Hunk, who were good friends almost the same week when lasses started.
Relationships: Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Pidge | Katie Holt, Matt Holt & Shiro
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31
Collections: Voltron Mermaid Tales Bang 2020





	Did I know you?

Keith didn't want to be there.

He sighed wearily when he looked up from his cell phone to see Shiro laughing openly at the other end of the room with a boy he had never seen in his entire life. The name of Matt Holt was always around their lives like a curious ghost, between childhood anecdotes and long-distance conversations that sometimes took center stage in their daily lives that Keith found funny from time to time. He was a childhood friend of his older brother who never lost contact despite going to live on another continent before Keith came to Shiro's life, and when he knows about Matt, his brother's long distant friend, he thought that friendship would eventually fade over time.

But there they were, talking and laughing as if the past ten years had never separated them. Shiro was very interested that he met him and they planned a day to visit him in the new apartment that Matt was leasing in the center of the city of Arus a few days after arriving from the other side of the world.

Keith could understand that. His brother had told him about Matt Holt since he started living with his family after being adopted by his parents, and part of him also wanted to meet him when he had the opportunity since he seemed to have the same interests that he and during the calls looked like a nice boy, also that he was quite peculiar and Keith could agree without problems. But he didn't agree to be dragged into the apartment of a stranger whose scent altered his senses.

It was not that he was bothered by the scent of the sea and salinity on the walls, in different circumstances he would have even enjoyed it since it was a smell that relaxed him, but it felt invasive. As if Matt's presence was trying to get his attention almost obsessively, crawling under his skin the instant he walked through his apartment door. He wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible, but Shiro wouldn't allow it with the excuse that he couldn't be in his room all weekend without anything productive to do.

It wasn't a lie, not that like his plans were quite interesting compared to being there, but he still preferred being at home. At least he was grateful that Matt didn't make much to talk to him when he noticed that he wasn't interested in saying more than necessary with a stranger. Shiro let it go after a while when they started to catch up and engage in personal chat.

He only had to wait until they were ready to leave. He could handle that. Right?

''I'll go get something to drink, we get so excited that I still don't offer anything to you guys,'' Matt said getting up from the chair with the excuse of heading towards the kitchen. "Are you still a tea fan?"

''Of course I am,'' Shiro replied with a discreet laugh. Matt turned to Keith.

''Do you also want a tea or do you prefer something colder?''

''Anything will be fine, thanks.''

Keith said flatly, and with a nod, Matt was lost on the other side of the apartment. Shiro rearranged himself to face his brother, with an inquiring but understanding gaze.

''You're good? You seem quite tense for a long time...'' He said worriedly. ''I thought you would like Matt.''

''He is kind and has a good humor sense,'' Keith replied without further thought after a few seconds. ''It's just...''

''Hey, I understand that you don't want to talk,'' Shiro smiled at him kindly, causing Keith's back to relaxing noticeably. ''I won't force you to do something you don't want to do, okay buddy?''

Keith smiled genuinely, nodded.

He knew that his brother had the best intentions to bring him with and meet Mat Holt, the scholarly genius who from a young age told his brother how made rockets in the backyard of his house or sneaked onto the balcony to watch the stars during the nights. But Keith was not very good at making friends and spent too much time alone with his own deals. He needed time to get used to someone's presence, and the confidence to talk about any subject.

At seventeen and with terrible popularity around him, it's not that he had too many friends except for his robotics partners that he dated occasionally. Keith liked to keep it that way, even at the cost of Lance and Shiro's complaints being frustrated by his lacking social life.

But it was very difficult to keep people around him when his scents sometimes gave him headaches, a condition that only Shiro knew about it. He was not only his brother, but he was also his best friend and moral compass in his worst days when he suffered severe pain that sometimes would not let him get out of bed. That's why he allowed going with him to his old friend's house, and perhaps the least he had to show was courtesy from Matt.

But before answering Shiro's question, the world started spinning around for no reason. He asserted his head as he propped his elbows on his knees in an attempt to get some support, complaining that the light suddenly became too bright for his eyes, and Shiro approached him asking if it was something to do with his usual migraines.

As if Keith understood his body.

Many things just happened, no one doctor could give him a proper diagnosis. So he only growled in response trying to regain control over his body.

Until a hand rested on his head, and suddenly, any illness disappeared magically while a familiar and unknown sensation, in turn, permeated his senses that any illness disappeared. Followed by a glass of water in front of him that he barely managed to take with his trembling fingers.

Keith looked up to find a girl with golden hair and bright eyes that took his breath away, a unique color that he had never thought was real in his life. Suddenly, the smell of wet algae and salt in the air hit his nose like an ancient memory that he didn't recognize.

It was strangely familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where.

''Pidge, is that you?'' Shiro asked still leaning on his brother in surprise. The girl smiled gently sitting next to him as Keith slowly drank the glass of water. ''You've grown a lot!'' He said in amazement, she just shrugged with a shy smile as she lightly hugged Shiro. ''I appreciate it, my little brother seems to be a little unbalanced.''

''I didn't remember you had a brother.''

She said, focusing her attention on Keith for a few moments. He inhaled deeply as his muscles began to assimilate the reality of the situation, relaxing and being able to breathe a little more freely than seconds ago, looking at her more closely when he was able to clear Shiro's concerns about his status.

Keith related people by their scent, and that girl had a mixture of danger and kindness that comically unsettled him. Her eyes were not only bright, but they were also curiously golden, and somehow dangerous. In which at any moment he could pierce his soul if he neglected himself for an instant.

More importantly, her scent reassured him.

And he realized, at that moment, that all along with the scent around the house that Keith assumed was Matt, he also knew it was her. The one that got under his skin almost obsessively as if trying to get his attention. Pidge before breaking eye contact with Keith, just smiled slyly at Shiro. He tried to rejoin himself to keep his composure, wondering if he had spent too much time watching her.

''You don't look alike.''

''Keith was adopted eight years ago by my parents before they left,'' Keith smiled when Shiro hit his shoulder with sympathy, already much calmer. ''It's been my family ever since.''

''Ohh, I'm so sorry, Shiro. I had no idea,'' She said genuinely concerned that perhaps she had said something inappropriate.

''Don't worry Pidge, the accident was very years ago. You had no way of knowing,'' She shifted her gaze cautiously, and some guilt swirling over her eyes that made Keith catch his eye for an instant.

''Actually…''

''Pidge, did you say hello to Shiro yet?''

Matt's figure appeared again from the hallway with a tray and two cups of hot tea. A proud look fell on his sister that did not go unnoticed by Keith.

They seemed to be close brothers.

''Keith, this is Katie. But we call it Pidge because she is small and adorable like a pokemon,'' Matt stroked the girl's head to ruffle a few hairs when he walked away, making her snort. ''She is very pretty cute, isn't it?''

''Ahh...''

The words were stuck in Keith's mouth, not knowing how to respond to that when he felt his face bubble with embarrassment for a moment. Shiro laughed softly at seeing him nervous, and next to him he could feel that the girl in question had also been embarrassed with anger at her older brother's words.

''Matt, don't bother them so soon.''

''I'm just kidding, of course you think she's cute!''

''Matt!'' Pidge hit him on the instep with a kick. But Shiro and Matt only seemed to be having fun at their expense.

''Don't take it personally, Pidge,'' Shiro said with some latent fun under his tongue. ''I really would love to stay longer, but Keith doesn't seem to feel well.''

''Do you need any medicine?'' Matt crossed his arms with a thoughtful look. ''We brought quite a few things from Venice if you need one.''

''I appreciate it, but I think I just need to rest,'' Keith rose cautiously, being followed by his brother instantly. ''You don't need to come with me.''

''I'll feel better if I'm sure you're resting. It's the first time I've ever seen you look so sickly.''

Keith sighed in defeat as they approached the exit. He was not going to convince him no matter how hard he tried, and part of him was grateful that he cared, even if it was a passing thing. All he wanted was to rest after that sudden blow to his senses and emotions that still felt crackling in the air, more strangely, for a girl he had never seen in his entire life. Matt and Pidge escorted them to the door, obviously disappointed at such a short visit.

''We will come to visit you soon. I hope they plan to stay in the city for a good time,'' Shiro said hugging Matt tightly, he hummed in agreement.

''That's the idea, at least until Pidge finishes her senior year of high school.''

The words brightened more than they normally would, but when they parted with the palpable promise that he would see them again soon. Keith felt that something was stirring in the depths of that girl's presence.

He wasn't quite sure what it was, much less if it was something he wanted to know.

* * *

''What are you drawing?'' Keith looked askance at her and then continued with his work. Pidge sat down next to him, looking with more interest at the traces he made on the black paper in the croquette. ''It looks like a dolphin.''

''Actually, I'm trying to make a shark.''

''Seriously?'' She asked surprised, then hear Keith snort in amusement.

''No, it's a dolphin.''

''Very funny.''

Keith didn't answer, and Pidge decided not to ask any more questions. It had been extremely difficult to find him after school, but Keith was not expected to end up on the roof after his music workshop.

Given her innate curiosity, she tried to enter all the workshops that might be minimally interesting from her while she was in her last year at a new high school, so she used to have a good time during the first months.

When Shiro found out during their weekly meetings, Keith began showing up behind the school parking lot more often, and with an additional helmet for his motorcycle that looked unnecessarily flashy to her. Not that they had discussed a deal or something, the first time Keith just waited for her outside the mechanic shop and they made their way silently to the parking lot. The following times, Pidge understood that he was there surely at the request of his brothers.

Sometimes they talked, sometimes she just watched him finish whatever he was doing while he waited for her. Despite being in the same group of friends and sharing many things in common, she did not know so many things form Keith, and that caused a deep emptiness inside her considering the circumstances. But she felt that he was too accustomed to loneliness, so his barriers were immutable if someone tried to enter by force like the case of Lance or Hunk, who were good friends almost the same week when lasses started.

With Keith it was different, and that frustrated her. Despite spending most of their time together and seeing each other at least once a week for movies or board games together with their siblings for a few months now, they weren't talking much to get to know each other properly.

But sometimes like at the time, while they were the only ones in an empty place and comfortable silence, Pidge didn't feel it was necessary.

Besides, she had other ways to get to know him without speaking. She could understand his fascination with the sea with just a glance at his sketches, which was funny to her how ignorant he was about what he was hiding behind that innocent interest, and was flattered when Shiro told her it was almost historical that Keith allowed someone else to see them. Adding that he knew how to accept her silence as a tangible comfort when she did not feel like saying something due to her reserved character that appeared from time to time, something that during her childhood brought her certain problems with the people around her, and she liked it that she could connect so easily to him that way in something that for many years Pidge thought was a problem.

She was happy at that thought. But at that moment, as she watched the sunset settle over a mountain of cold, lifeless buildings that characterized the city, she vaguely remembered Matt's comments about how different the people were from them.

The customs, the way of relating to others, and even the little awareness of their senses. Many times, she wasn't even able to understand other people's feelings, they got unnecessarily complicated and on more than one occasion she found herself making mistakes the first few weeks during school for being too direct with some things. So she couldn't help but wonder if maybe there were also those differences between Keith and her.

If perhaps the gap between them was much bigger than she thought.

''Keith, are we friends?'' She didn't look at him when he looked up. But she felt his gaze searching for some explanation to her question.

''I don't know, Maybe?'' He said thoughtfully, leaving his croquette beside him to rest his hands on his knees. ''We both spend time with Hunk and Lance. You have stayed at my house and have slept in my bed on many times. I've let you ride my motorcycle a few times when Shiro isn't looking. So... I guess so?''

''Is that a question or a statement?'' Pidge asked incredulously at how difficult it was for him to confirm something so simple. Keith shrugged.

''Maybe a little of both. Do you consider me a friend?''

"No," Pidge replied simply, and quickly Keith's scent turned sour, filled with anxiety and pain that made her slightly dizzy. She had pressed the wrong button and her heart panicked. ''Where I come from, you cannot consider a person you like as a friend.''

The silence changed to something strange. The first thing Pidge recognized was an increase in fear, along with nervousness and mixed excitement that she recognized as enthusiasm. There were no words in the air, but the discomfort became so palpable that even she felt the need to say something else just to break that barrier.

It was not necessary.

''You like me?'' Keith asked barely in a soft whisper. Pidge nodded, looking at him at last, and his violet eyes shone warmly from the colors of the sunset that fell over her. Her heart leaped with the sincere emotion of her entire body. ''As a friend, a brother, or...''

''It would never occur to me to kiss my brother Keith. What kind of ideas do you have?'' Pidge said at last with mockery. He just snorted smiling as he pressed the bridge of his nose, the anxiety however only starting to rise more and more and Pidge feared that her feelings would bring trouble to their relationship. ''It bothers you?''

"No, no, none of that ... It's just ..." Keith took her hand hesitantly, almost as if he were asking her approval. ''I never expected you like me it that way, you know? Much less that you told me at any moment, you surprised me,'' He said at last. ''That's it.''

''Good surprise or a bad surprise?'' She asked a little more self-conscious than before. But Keith smiled nervously at her, biting his lower lip to stifle a laugh.

''A very good one.''

''So…'' Pidge didn't want to say it out loud, thinking maybe it would mean Keith saying something just out of obligation. But he laughed briefly to look at her with a mixture of decision and great appreciation. His scent was becoming sweet, provocative, prompting her to approach him and hug her tightly.

''I like you a lot too.''

Both smiled awkwardly as they held hands tightly as if it were a ground wire while their hearts bubbled with happiness. Little by little they began to get closer and closer to their faces, breathing the opposite air like a promise about to be fulfilled, and Pidge, unable to avoid it any more, kissed the lips of the boy who months ago was removing the air from her lungs.

It was rough, his cold-torn lips felt strange under hers, but the taste was interesting. A mixture of black coffee mixed with wood, surely from the habit of biting his pencil while drawing. It was warm, strangely pleasant, and familiar.

So familiar that for a second her heart panicked. Moving away after a moment to avoid the sensation of her insides.

Keith looked at her confused, then cradled her cheek over his hand.

''Did I hurt you?''

''No,'' She said with kindness, to get up quickly from the ground, avoiding physical contact. ''It's already getting dark, if we don't get home soon Matt could lose his mind,'' She did not want to spoil all the atmosphere that became between them, but they needed to stop now before something terrible happened in the worst possible place.

''Get it.''

They both started walking towards the parking lot where only the motorcycle was. Keith didn't smell as sweet as minutes ago, but the closeness caused him to be in a good mood quickly. Pidge couldn't help but feel bubbly and happy as their hands were joined throughout the ride, and she was deeply grateful that Keith didn't try to kiss her again.

She felt the skin of her neck rise under her scarf, she could not access more physical contact or her emotion could expose her.

When they reached her building and took off her helmet, Keith gave her a quick kiss on the head before walking away, and she may have been staring out at the street where he disappeared before entering her home.

There, Matt was at the computer making a video call with their parents.

''Pidge, Mom and Dad want to talk to you!''

''Just a moment!''

She ran to the bathroom before her brother could ask, if she was lucky, her father would surely be too entertaining talking to Matt to miss her just yet. Anyway, in a couple of hours, she could call them back when she was a little more willing.

Now she needed to worry about a much more important matter.

She let the bathwater run as she took off the clothes that seemed to hurt her sensitive skin, reddened by the contact of the fabric. Looking at herself in the mirror, her image was quite normal. A slim body whose curves around it hardly protruded from late puberty, her hair was thick and strange shapes were created on her shoulders, her ears were partially pointed at the end and her skin still held a smooth texture, except for the contour of her hips that little by little, it began to dry up, giving way to a second skin.

Pidge looked completely normal to the naked eye, except for the open wounds that were becoming more visible on her neck.

Just for a kiss with a boy, Katie? Really?

She started scratching her arms where the dryness felt uncomfortable as she climbed into the half-filled tub, the stinging was killing her just for a few teenage hormones. When she reached a moderate level, she threw a pair of salt stones around her legs and leaned back on the porcelain while the water acted as a painkiller.

The stinging was finally over.

Glancing sideways, she reached for her purse near the bathtub to take out her cell phone, uninterestingly checking some pages and emails that she didn't intend to answer soon. She reached Keith's number, where their chat was simplified with dates and times to meet during the day.

Her heart pounded excitedly at what had happened on the roof a few hours ago, and she decided to send a quick message hoping he would get home safely.

Before leaving it on the toilet, the answering sound reached seconds.

I still feel that what happened is unreal. I feel lucky, sleep well, Pidge. :)

She gave an excited scream at how adorable Keith could be with just a few words and dived to the bottom so Matt wouldn't hear her scream like a girl in love. Her tail came out of the tub halfway, overflowing the water she used to stay hydrated, while her gills moved gracefully over her neck, breathing the water around her and showing her excitement.

There, between a mess of wet clothes thrown all over the bathroom floor and the tail of a neon green fish trying to settle on a limited surface, Pidge felt a stab of fear for a few seconds. Her feelings were dangerous if were directed towards someone like Keith, and it was the first thing her parents instilled before going on a trip with her brother to discover the underworld.

It was a crime for beings like them to maintain a relationship with beings as ignorant as humans. There was no place in the world for things to turn out well between such different beings, not to mention that their existence was unknown as a method of security. If she broke that law, she could surely retaliate against her people.

If someone found out, she could lose their civil rights. Or the head, in the worst case.

But ever since she met Keith, her instincts screamed at her desperately that he was perhaps too special to be considered an ordinary person.

When her puberty began and the exciting wait to find her partner just like her parents did at her age, Pidge did not impregnate anyone. It was as if all the people like the same age just didn't seem to smell like her or her scent was too strange for anyone to accept stay with her. Which was strange, since nereids like her did not take long to find their life partners because odors, in general, were quite common in more than one person. Pidge had not an emotional contact with other people like her brother, who had accidentally impregnated himself with a human at a young age, who despite the distance and the years, could never let go of him.

But even if she searched long and hard for all the people she met in her life, Pidge couldn't find anyone, and as time passed, she didn't care too much. She was already used to staying alone except for her older brother, and living with herself wasn't such a terrible thing if she could see the benefits of the situation. Like traveling the world without taking anyone's accounts, or meeting others like her who had no emotional ties to anyone.

That was her whole life, she thought until Keith's scent came within weeks of arriving at Arus, realizing immediately that it wasn't a mistake.

So, taking a deep breath, Pidge decided the risk was worth it.

* * *

The sensation of the current around his body caressing every inch of his skin numbed his senses until he was lethargic. He felt warm, pleasant as if it were a liquid blanket, and tried to cradle him in his arms so that he rested without fear or worries that tormented him continuously. As if he belonged to that lake from the moment of his birth.

It was a ridiculous thought, but Keith felt too relaxed on the surface of the water to care for the moment.

He didn't see any dirt from whatever angle he was at, but he felt it wouldn't matter anyway. He knew how to swim expertly from an early age thanks to his father, and this place was too familiar to feel threatened by the current that carried him.

Just a few more minutes in quiet and he would return to shore, he promised himself. Although deep down he knew it was a vile lie. It could take hours if Shiro didn't call him for dinner. A smile crossed his face at the thought of seeing his older brother with a boat paddling up to him and a look of utter frustration.

Maybe he would provoke him just to annoy him.

On the water, Keith felt free. And he did his best to extend that moment until late in the afternoon when he needed to spend quality time with his family. His senses were controlled, there were no loud sounds, no blinding lights that caused him severe headaches, no smells that confused him.

It was just him and a feeling of deep inner peace.

The purring of the moving waters so gently caught his breath on his chest that he felt himself numb for a moment, forgetting everything. If he wasn't careful, he could fall asleep on the surface and be taken to the bottom of the lake again. He was about to lose consciousness until a strange sound, unique caught his attention so fleetingly that Keith stirred in the water, frightened, diving for a moment to see if perhaps a fish had passed near him and caught him, or a mistaken piece of wood floating around.

It was strange, but he didn't feel the weight on his legs or arms as it should, he had no trouble flapping his wings to stay afloat and the light sensation that came when he plunged into the waters was strangely empty. As if he were in space.

When his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he saw curious gleams under the darkness of his feet, he couldn't help but let out a sigh that was holding all this time in the back of his throat, and he realized that he could breathe underwater when it entered his open mouth.

Ah, the same dream as always. He came to the realization almost disappointed.

When he looked closely around him, Keith could see that the small lights, which reminded him of fireflies on a picnic, began to rise to the surface quickly passing by him as if nothing had happened, until he was enveloped in a kind of school of little ones. bright parasites around. The sky was no longer visible above his head.

And from one moment to the next, soft hands took his cheeks to shift his gaze to left.

There, a petite and completely naked girl smiled at him with a discreet shyness. He didn't know if her body was shining on its own or if it was a reflection of the bacteria that kept rising around them. She looked too much like Katie, but her features were much sharper and her skin had light scales that made her look almost fanciful, but intimidating in turn when he noticed certain shades of red and violet around her bestial eyes.

_Here you are._

Her deep voice that contrasted with her frail appearance, and her copper hair tickled him as she moved closer to his face to kiss him, swirling over him.

Keith didn't know what to do other than just standstill before the spectacle in front of his eyes, but when his eyes closed, the kiss never came. But the feeling was strangely familiar, though.

Just a heavy blow to his head that abruptly lifted him off his table.

He was back in his classroom and many eyes on him, looking at him with mockery and disapproval for falling asleep in the middle of the conference. His teacher seemed amused by his puzzled look, lowering his hand with the book he used to wake him up.

''Since young Shirogane stopped his chorus of snoring, could you explain how bioluminescence occurs in aquatic animals,'' Keith grimaced, stroking his hair. Coran's blow was strong enough to feel his head pound.

''Some species have a substance in their body called luciferase. It combines with oxygen and produces the chemical luminescence reaction. Did you have to hit me so hard?''

''Exactly! Listen more and snore less,'' Shouted Coran turning to the blackboard, writing down some things to explain more accurately. ''As our dear friend Keith says, species have an enzyme that, with the help of oxygen, manages to oxidize the substrate they contain and create light. A fascinating conversion that uses chemical and light energy in living beings!''

Keith looked at him disapprovingly, wiping the drool that fell on his jaw from the short nap. Beside him, Hunk shook his head while in front of him, Lance contained a laugh that made his shoulders shake whispering moron in his native language.

He was grateful that at least no one else seemed to care that he had fallen asleep in the middle of biology class, his classmates sometimes tended to hate him for no apparent reason and he didn't want to give Shiro more gray hair for starting a fight. Opening his notebook with a couple of doodles in the corners, he tried to pay attention to Professor Coran while it was a subject that interested him.

Not without first tapping Lance's chair with his foot to silence his teasing. He would have to be careful the next time he decided to rest his head on his hand.

The afternoon continued without further mishaps to his relief until the end of the day. Although he was a little more deconcentrated than other days because of the dream he had hours ago.

That version of Pidge had been repeating himself the same way since his kiss, and although he didn't have much trouble imagining her as a mythical being on his best nights, he was already beginning to baffle him.

He avoided some people who didn't seem to look around as they turned down the hallways while trying to get past the embarrassment his own thoughts caused him. The feel of hands-on his cheeks stayed cool under his skin, like a phantom touch he longed to keep for longer before being violently awakened, and the color of gold was strongly etched in his memory so characteristic of the girl was going out. Heat rose to his ears at the thought that, if he had perhaps slept a few more seconds, he would finally have been able to feel her lips on him from a unique perspective.

He snorted up the volume on his cell phone as he walked down the hallways toward the school hall, avoiding the curious looks on his flushed cheeks. He had to be careful with his thoughts if he didn't want someone to find out about his fantasies. Or worse still, that Pidge found out that he was having wet dreams with her image turned into a nereid.

Dreams about swimming in the lake? Normal, Keith had a special connection to water from early childhood, it was the only place where his senses seemed to calm down without being a time bomb that haunted pain and headaches.

Dreams of fireflies underwater? Dark.

Dreams of mermaids? He needed to stop researching and watching cryptic documentaries alongside Pidge with so much obsession.

He pulled up his hood when the sun hit his eyes hard, making him dizzy for a moment, and the pain in his eyelids was annoying until he reached a shady area where the light did not come directly to his face. He cursed himself internally for leaving his sunglasses on the table. The light affected his head and he tended to run out of nose from the pressure rise if he wasn't careful.

Thinking carefully, feeling weak would be inevitable until he gets home. The temperature was rising enough to disturb the extra clothing on his body and he could feel the fiber pink his arms. But without the hood, the headache from the light would be worse. He hated the heat.

He touched his head as he thought about calling Shiro to ask him if he had a long way to go, he was resentful where his teacher hit him during biology class, although he couldn't blame Coran for the punishment. Despite everything, he was a good teacher and one of the few who genuinely cared about his educational performance, unlike the others who saw him as a criminal with no future.

Before dialing his brother's number to find out how long it would take to get there, the essence of sea cologne along with species of herbs quickly hit his senses, looking to the left to recognize the people who were approaching him with enough courage to feel something of envy for his good health.

''Woof!''

''Lance!'' Hunk chided when he saw that his friend tried to scare him when Keith was not looking. He shoved Lance away when he saw the intention to lean on his shoulders. ''I told you you couldn't surprise him.''

''You're doing that again,'' Lance said, touching his fangs with one of his fingers. ''You look like a dog.''

''I'm not a dog,'' He barked at him, gnashing his teeth unconsciously. Lance raised his hands with a smug look.

''Are you good, buddy? You looked pretty upset,'' Hunk approached Keith with some suspicion. Despite having known him for years, he still liked the kindness he had in dealing with him knowing that he did not abruptly endure physical contact.

Keith sighed, pulling his hood up to cover his face.

''I left my glasses on this morning and Shiro still hasn't arrived,'' He frowned as he tried to look up at the sky. ''It's too bright.''

''Is it just that?'' Lance snorted crossing his arms. ''For a hypersensitive mullet like you, you are not very prepared for any circumstance.''

''I didn't expect this damn sun this time of year!''

''Here,'' Known hands placed dark glasses over his eyes with surprise. To then feel the smell of herbs and sea breeze so characteristic of her. He smiled unconsciously as he moved to her side with a sly smile that made his heart bounce. ''Lance is right, you are grumpier today.''

''It's the sun,'' He answered without further ado, put on his glasses correctly. ''Thank you for this.''

''Ahh! You yell at me for that and you thank Pidge?! What kind of favoritism is this!?'' Lance inquired almost comically. Hunk just patted him gently on the back.

''Dude, you can't compare, Pidge is his girlfriend.''

''Don't you dare say that in front of Matt, or he will castrate me before I can defend myself.''

''You still don't tell him that you're dating his sister?'' Lance raised an eyebrow, confused. But Keith only looked away at the question.

''We can't find the right time for him not to end up chasing me with a torch.''

''I'm sure he could give you a little advantage,'' Pidge said a little more relaxed. But the way her shoulders tensed told him that something worried her. She looked too anxious. ''Shiro hasn't arrived yet?''

''Surely he's on his way,'' Keith replied disinterestedly.

''Then I'll come with you.''

''We are leaving. We have more fun things to do than watch you flirt,''

Lance scoffed as Hunk followed him laughing out loud. Their faces were too red to be healthy.

After their kiss, they began to have discreet dates so as not to be disturbed by other people, but their feelings seemed to be too evident for their friends, so they ended up being annoyed before telling them that they were dating. At least their brothers still didn't notice, or Keith would have serious trouble dealing with Matt Holt's brother complex.

When they could only hear the voices of some people in the distance, Keith broke the silence.

''How about making it official?''

''What?'' Pidge asked genuinely confused. ''Do you mean me and you?''

''Of course I mean us,'' Keith said, but Pidge wasn't looking at him. ''It is something wrong?''

''Summer is beginning...'' She said almost in a whisper. Keith hummed in agreement but wasn't quite sure he understood what she meant. ''I have to go back to my family.''

''Will you go to Venice to visit them?''

''Something like that…''

Again silent, she didn't seem very willing to explain. But he could feel the lump in her throat clench so hard that the mere exercise of swallowing became unbearable. Would she be gone forever or just one season? Pidge was trying to break up with him if that was the case? But Matt hadn't said anything about a move...

"When I said I loved you…" Pidge's voice caught his attention again. ''I was serious, Keith. I just don't think it will work if I travel to Venice during the summer.''

''I was serious too,'' He stated with conviction, taking her hand in his. ''If you will return to your home, I don't think it is necessary to say goodbye this way. I will wait for you.''

Pidge looked at him with concern for a moment, and something inside her guts told him there was more to it than just a family trip. Some moments went on forever in his head, but after a few seconds, she nodded hopefully.

The following week, Pidge and Matt returned to Venice.

But they didn't return at the end of the summer.

* * *

''Is Shiro dating someone?''

She poked her head into the main room after bathing. The move had not been as terrible as the first time they lived in Arus two years ago, but it had still exhausted them enough so that they could hibernate for three days in a row.

Matt was in the living room surrounded by boxes and half-packed furniture around the new apartment that they rented when they returned to that city when she heard him and give her the news. His face was blank, completely calm as he continued to check the messages on his cell phone on the wooden floor that contrasted charmingly with the white of the walls.

''Three months ago,'' Matt brought the phone to Pidge to see the picture Shiro had uploaded a few days ago, along with a kind-eyed boy who was not familiar. ''He seems to be a co-worker; his name is Curtis.''

''I'm so sorry, Matt,'' She replied in an attempt to appease the possible pain that her brother was experiencing when seeing his partner with someone else. But Matt looked calm enough to know that he wasn't much affected by the news.

''These things just happen'' He stated simply to start unpacking some things from the bigger boxes. ''Nor did he expect him to be single all his life. He is a human after all.''

''You make it sound like a flaw,'' Pidge said helping to remove the appliances from the boxes. ''There is nothing wrong with being a human.''

''Katie,'' Matt stopped her halfway, resting his hand on her shoulder with a look too serious for him. ''I love Shiro a lot, but his worst flaw is undoubtedly being a human'' He looked away as if the very idea bothered him. ''He doesn't understand the world like us, he is too slow to understand the environment, and worst of all, his feelings are always changing,'' He broke an empty box to take advantage of reducing the space. Pidge shuddered before the strong blow caused when he threw it next to the trash. ''I've talked to him since we migrated to Italy. And nothing backs me up that eventually, he got tired of me like all the couples he has had in the past. I ... I'm afraid of him.''

Pidge sighed heavily as he sat next to her older brother, who kept her head bowed at the thought of what all that meant. Matt suffered in silence every time Shiro gained a new partner, and it was even worse when he was done with them, because that implied a certain hope that his brother could be with him if he played with the right cards, instead of just playing around like a naive boy who had no idea of the sexual tension that existed between the two whenever they saw each other. But Matt never did, opting to be the best friend he didn't need more than a movie night or a nice chat with the person who should love all his long life.

Years ago, she did not understand her brother's stupid need to stay close to a human with whom he had no guarantee of being with him, risking his earthly identity to have a little more contact. But when Pidge met Keith during the last stay at Arus, she fully understood the feeling.

It was a risky card to play with humans, their entire race understood it, and it was illegal not to abide by the established rules that existed to protect their own lives. But the memories that lay in her heart the last two years she stayed away from the mainland, she could never get it out of her head, and for that reason, at the cost of warnings from her parents and anyone with a little common sense, Pidge decided to return for the person she loved, determined to tell her everything if she gave a chance why she was so many years without contact.

Pidge only hoped that he would not forget his promise before returning to her colony. Her heart was not as strong as her older brother's.

**.**

**.**

_I know it's only been a week since you came back to Venice, but I wanted to tell you that I miss you so much Katie._

When Shiro came to visit them after Matt contacted him and let him know about their new home, it was no surprise that Keith was not with him. Pidge assumed he might be wary of seeing her again when she didn't reply to his messages for two continuous years. Trying to empathize with his feelings, he would surely be hurt by the ridiculous idea that she had forgotten him.

But until today and even with her intelligence, it was very difficult to imitate the magnetic signal from cell phones to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

_I'm a little concerned that you don't read my messages, but Shiro told me it was normal, I guess you're busy. How is the weather there? Here I am about to cook alive._

It's also not like she going to tell Shiro. Matt wanted to keep their identity as a newt a secret, so they made up a complicated story of which he barely left them with some extra time.

The dinner was unprecedented, Shiro was applying for a space piloting project where he would allow him to visit space for several months, a wish that sounded wonderful to anyone who would listen to him for a moment, and before the end of the evening, the question about Keith was on the air all afternoon, until after dinner Pidge dared to ask.

Shiro's desolate face was not something expected. The scent of anger and pain from his body made her feel worrying.

Something was not right.

_''I ask you not to judge him. Keith is an orphan who had many problems before coming to my family, abandonment is a very difficult issue for him.''_

The next day, she decided to head to the apartment that Keith was renting on the other side of the city, where the Arus university neighborhood settled with several people who at any moment would erupt in a psychotic attack by the pressure that their bodies were handling, cause of university life. It was like the February carnival that left a disgusting smell on the surface of the waters. The smell of drugs and sweat filled her senses, displeasing her, with Shiro's words still in her head.

_''_ _What do you mean?''_

_''After almost a year of not knowing about you, he decided that there was no point waiting for you.''_

Until she reached a wooden door, she felt a familiar scent around it, mixed with stress and some nicotine. Pidge knocked briefly on the door, waiting for him to respond on the other side.

_''Keith only went on with his life after that. Although he was decompensated for many months.''_

The same black hair that she remembered so much in her dreams, now growing to touch his neck, his profiled face, and dark circles from a bad dream, partial changes that made him look more adult, except for his eyes.

They were the same violet eyes that she remembered so much. Looking at her with hatred and pain intertwining.

_I'm starting to feel like you're ignoring me, I understand you're busy. But why don't you reply to any message?_

''What are you doing here,'' It was all he said, and Pidge stepped back as annoyance boiled his face. ''I told Shiro that I didn't want to see you if you came back.''

''I want to talk to you,'' Pidge replied with a little more determination, but Keith only closed the door in her face. ''What the heck Keith!?''

_I want to know that even though six months have passed I am still waiting for a response from you. I said I would be patient. But it would be easier if I knew you were fine._

''Go away!'' He yelled at her from the other side of the door. ''I'm not interested in anything you have to say!''

''It is important!'' She screamed annoyed. ''I understand that you think I didn't want to know about you, but it was not because I didn't answer your messages.''

_Eight months have passed, and I'm really starting to lose motivation. Just one?_

''Then what?'' He opened the door sarcastically, but not enough so that she could see it completely. ''Job? A family project? Bad connection? I know all the excuses that you and your brother give Shiro when he can' contact with you. He knows they are lies, but he prefers not to ask something personal. Me? I played the clown for a whole year,'' Keith swallowed hard when he glanced at her, his essence was overwhelmed and it was upsetting Pidge's nerves. It was too much-accumulated pain. ''Just a message Katie.''

_Just one…_

''I just needed an answer, and you didn't even care too much to give me five minutes of your precious time,'' Keith sighed wearily, and Pidge couldn't say anything. The scent around him was toxic, full of dangers that no response would give his heart relief. ''Don't come looking for me again, you were a year late for that.''

He slammed the door shut on his face. She spent several minutes looking carefully at the door in front of her, where a lot of people passed around wondering who she was and why he had thrown her out like that. But none of that mattered. Responding almost out of inertia, she made her way back to her brother's apartment, repeating over and over everything that happened to Keith that afternoon.

_Goodbye Katie, if you go back to the city, I don't want to hear from you._

That had been the last message from the number she had in Arus, two months after finally being able to come to the surface after a full time working in the community where she and her family lived more than fifty years ago. The time was not the same for seafarers, sometimes the change of currents gave them a vague idea that the season was on dry land to carry out certain animal hunts or move to other nurseries to stay in warm currents.

But still, time was a complicated thing under the depths. Pidge didn't even get a chance to answer Keith anything, and even asking Shiro for the new phone number, he just blocked her from everywhere.

The message was clear.

That afternoon's answer was final.

When she got home, Matt asked her if everything was okay, he smelled of anxiety and fear throughout her body from the fight with Keith. So after some mechanical questions, Pidge decided to head towards the tub to relax her natural body again. Then she would let her brother know everything, first, she needed to clear her mind and heart.

Filled the tub with all the pulse of the water, she threw some bath salts gently. But her hands trembled when she tried to take off her clothes, so she decided to leave the shirt and the bra she was wearing for that day.

As the seconds ticked by, her tail curled over the porcelain and her guts began to protrude from her neck.

After a few minutes, her green scales were drawn on her stomach and the outline of her face was impregnated with a luminescent hue of golden tones.

And without waiting any longer, when her physical form was fully revealed and she could release her emotions without danger of being discovered, Pidge screamed.

* * *

''You look lost.''

Keith sighed for the fifth time in a row in the last twenty minutes when Griffin's voice caught his attention. Closing the notebook with the frustration of not understanding the matter that would come in the contest next week.

One of his partners looked at him worried and then patted his back gently as a sign of empathy. Kinkade was one of the few who heard his argument with Pidge last week, and his body still felt heavy from seeing her again after two years of disappearance.

She had completely altered his senses and could no longer think of anything other than her misery-filled eyes. Chasing him at night as a punishment for his actions.

But he couldn't help it, she had abandoned him as fast as she returned to her native country. Hopefully, he thought she had forgotten about him. But it only took a couple of seconds to flourish again all those feelings that he kept in the back of his mind all this time.

Pidge wreaked havoc on his system just by showing herself in front of him, it was not something to be surprised about either, she was his first girlfriend in high school and the only person except for Shiro who had come so close to his intimacy, to his longings and fears. It was the first time that he was not afraid to be with someone without the idea that she would eventually be abandoned. He couldn't deny that he had missed her like this all this time, and he still loved her just like the last day he saw her leave. But he had already made up his mind that nothing he said would make him change his mind.

He apologized to his study group and decided to return to his off-campus department. There was no point in staying to study when he could barely keep up with all the stuff they needed to memorize before next week, so it would just be a bother at the time.

Pass through the college neighborhood without major problems, seeing the odd place full of people enjoying their last moments of freedom before the final exams began. Until a car pulled up in front of him in such a hurry that for a moment he feared being run over. When he looked towards the pilot's place, his heart stopped.

''What are you doing here? I told you to leave me alone,'' Pidge ignored him, opening the passenger door in front of him.

''Up,'' It was not a suggestion, Pidge's voice was deep and direct that made her spine shudder at the demand. Quickly the feeling of guilt and pain permeated his nose. Her scent showed him that, despite sounding loud, deep down she suffered just like him. ''I'm not trying to make you change your mind, but I need to show you why I couldn't talk to you all this time. After this, I will leave you alone forever.''

It wasn't hard for him to just turn around and head toward his apartment, closing this conversation. But something in his gaze told him that he was crying out for a bit of his time. Keith had neither the heart nor the indifference to flee.

He closed the co-pilot door and began to drive in an unknown direction.

.

.

The first few minutes in the car, neither of them was willing to talk. So Keith fell asleep as he watched the road trail disappear behind the glass of the door. When he woke up, he found himself in a place that he had not visited for a long time.

Marmora Lake. A place full of nature around whose lake gave him the best family memories he could have in his childhood. Or at least the ones he could remember.

Before Shiro, everything was too blurry in his mind.

When he got out of the car, he could see that they were in the area furthest from the cabins, in which the water connected directly to one of the beaches in the city of Arus, and the lanterns didn't get there.

They were completely alone from any intruder. Something in his stomach was pressed with alarm, but he preferred to ignore it to know the truth of everything.

As he walked further, he could see Pidge's shadow looking over the wooden pier that gave access to the water's edge, in a dress so thin that it danced ethereally on the cold wind that began to freeze the nights of the city.

Her hair had grown to her shoulders, and she looked pretty good with her more mature appearance. Once she turned to notice him, her eyes reflecting a deep sadness that troubled his heavy heart.

She looked as fragile as the day she left.

''I read your last message two months late, but then you didn't want to know anything about me anymore, isn't it?

''Would you?'' He asked standing next to her. Pidge never lost eye contact with him, until he was at her side, imbued with the characteristic smell that made him lose his senses.

''In your place, I would have acted the same.''

''My place?''

''For us, time is not something relevant,'' She said at last, moving slightly from his place. ''Knowing that it had been so long since the last time...''

''Time is the same for all of us Pidge,'' Keith stopped her, a little more frustrated than he would like to admit,'' Here or in Rome, things are the same, it was two years without me knowing about you.''

''For us isn't!'' She replied angrily. ''It's only a couple of months for us! Do you think I didn't feel distressed when I noticed how much time passed? I love you Keith! Of course I worried about hurting you!''

''What do you mean with us?'' Keith said incredulously. ''Now are you going to tell me that you are an alien or something?''

"No," Pidge answered determinedly. ''But I can show you this.''

Pidge spun around to jump into the lake, and before he knew it, he jumped to his rescue without a second thought.

''Lake Marmora was deep and dangerous'' His biological father had told him at one point in his life.

''You can drown if you dive at night'' Shiro had warned him during one of his summers.

He opened his eyes in surprise as the frozen water began to numb his senses abruptly, his limbs were weighing down to even try to move and reach the surface, and part of his consciousness felt for a moment in peace as he let the water submerge him to the depths without caring about anything else.

Until he remembered Pidge, he started to panic.

''Hey, calm down,'' A voice said close to his ear, sweet enough to alert him and realize that it was very strange that he could understand it so perfectly underwater. ''You've been struggling your whole life to stay in control, just let the water take it this time.''

Keith watched as Pidge stood over him gently, her dress swimming next to them like a jellyfish cape protecting the body of her beloved, and realizing that he didn't have too many options, he decided to believe in her and allow the water to take it as it would like. When he closed his eyes, he could feel lips falling on his like in his deepest dreams, and at that moment he felt somehow, to someone else.

Until his body burned so fleetingly that he felt his muscles tighten in painful forms that he feared for his own identity.

The skin on his neck felt broken from the inside, exposing several layers that gave grateful relief to his already burning lungs from lack of air. The muscles in his legs began to join, as Pidge tried his best to remove all of his clothing so that the skin found its way to join at one limb. It was an almost overwhelming transmutation that burned every cell in his body within seconds, and a layer of red scales was drawn around his hands and hips, ending in a fin light enough to give quick movements in the water.

Keith didn't know what to think about everything or what happened, imagined that it was some strange magic from Pidge looked up to ask for explanations, but he found a face as perplexed as he could have.

''What did you do to me!?''

''Nothing! You transmuted into a galra on your own!'' She replied quickly, touching each place that the dark scales decided to appear on his skin. ''You are a galra, all this time you were a galra!''

''What do you mean by all this time?'' Keith inquired a little more anxious when he felt his fangs longer than normal. Pidge smiled nervously, almost in a panic attack. ''Why do I have a tail!?''

''Calm down Keith. Your shape is only temporary, ok?'' She took his face with her hands to focus on his gaze. Keith nodded slowly, not understanding what was happening. ''It's temporary, repeat with me.''

''It's temporary,'' He said again. ''You're talking underwater.''

''Breath, try to feel your new body,'' Keith caught her breath next to his, to notice that under her neck, bright gills moved in time. ''I also breathe underwater, I'm like your Keith.''

''Like me?''

''We are seafarers.''

Taking off her underwear, Pidge let her legs meet in a tail that was a little bit smaller than his, with pleasant green hues that gave a rather curious touch to the eye.

On her chest, the color changed to gold, the same one he saw in his childhood dreams.

And thanks to that thought, Keith realized everything. His sensitive body to certain stimuli, his ability to feel deeper smells than other people, and his insatiable curiosity about marine life.

''Did you know all this time?'' Pidge bit her lip as he took her by the waist to pull her closer to him. ''Tell me the truth.''

''I just thought you had mermaid or nereid blood. I never expected you to be a galra.''

''What is that supposed to be?'' Keith asked as they let themselves be carried away by the movement of water. ''It's something bad?''

''It's not bad, it's different,'' She replied. ''The Galra are... Very mysterious seafarers. No one knows much about them, and they do not want to relate to us.''

''Are there more of us?'' He asked with emotion, the tail of his fin moved with energy. Pidge couldn't help but snort at that.

''There are hundreds of us.''

''Take me with them.''

''Keith, things don't work that fast,'' Pidge took his face in her hands again. ''Let's go step by step. You have to get used to this, know what you are. And talk to Shiro before deciding anything.''

''But... What if there is no time?'' He asked worriedly. But Pidge raised an eyebrow with a sincere smile.

''I told you a while ago, time does not make sense to us,'' She tried to calm his worries. ''I understand that you need answers, I can give you some, my family can give you others. But we need to make this easy, okay?''

Keith bit his lip trying to figure out what was going on. He had a flipper, his legs were tied together in some kind of silk covered in red scales and there were gills on his neck. It was all too strange, breathing the water was giddy, feeling him around in a different way was almost psychotic.

But it was real, all of it was real.

And Pidge was part of that world that he needed to discover as soon as possible. So, after calming down a bit more and learning everything she was teaching him, they decided to pause. Believing in Pidge's words that time was not something to worry about.

"So..." Pidge caught his attention once they grabbed their clothes to get back to Matt's car. ''Do you like my marine version?

He chuckled briefly before pulling his hair back, and between laughter and a warm sensation in his guts, Keith kissed her lips appropriately just like two years ago.

_''You’re everything I dreamed.''_

**Author's Note:**

> This story was part of the Voltron Mermaid bang project. It was a total challenge to do this because I realized that I suck at developing a mermaid story, but it was a nice experience. I hope you enjoyed it <3


End file.
